CC Sabathia could do nothing but stare at his glove as he waited to be relieved during the fifth inning yesterday in Baltimore. / Gail Burton/The Associated Press

Written by

Sam Borden

Journal News columnist

BALTIMORE - As far as early-season starts go, it could have been worse: Carl Pavano's second-ever game as a Yankee ended in the third inning after he got drilled in the head by a line drive. So, at least say this about CC Sabathia's outing yesterday at Camden Yards: He managed to avoid any sort of lingering skull damage.

Still, other than escaping without a concussion, there weren't many positives coming from Sabathia's first start as a Yankee. The big left-hander may well go on to win the Cy Young this year and might even pitch the Yankees to a championship, too, but he'll never get another shot at his Yankee introduction; yesterday's 10-5 battering at the hands of the Orioles can't be erased.

"I definitely feel like I let us down today," Sabathia said afterward. "It's disappointing to come out, first start, and have a bad game like this. ... It's not what I imagined."

Earlier yesterday, Sabathia was the picture of comfort. While some pitchers favor isolationism (Randy Johnson), music-inspired frenzy (David Wells) or a hot-balm-on-the-private-parts-induced rage (Roger Clemens) in the hours leading up to their starts, Sabathia never broke out of his everyday character. Wearing baggy shorts and flip-flops, he lounged around his locker watching the early Opening Day games and chatting with neighbor Joba Chamberlain. If he had overwhelming nerves about the game, it certainly wasn't apparent.

Once he got to the mound, though, Sabathia never looked at ease. His first pitch was high, outside and 91 mph. His second came right back at him (and past him) as Brian Roberts singled to center. Then came a wild pitch and a four-pitch walk. "You're not always going to have your rhythm, and he didn't have it this time," manager Joe Girardi said.

Sabathia wriggled out of that inning without allowing a run, then had a smooth second, but gave up three runs apiece in the third and fifth innings, failing to record a single strikeout. For a pitcher who averages about 7 1/2 strikeouts per nine innings and hadn't had a zero-strikeout outing since 2005, it was a glaring omission.

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The punchlines come easy in the wake of Sabathia's performance - it didn't take long to hear the first "$161 million doesn't buy you what it used to" joke - but the reality is that his showing was alarmingly poor. The standard "I missed with a few pitches" line doesn't fly here because Sabathia never looked close to being the dominant pitcher he usually is. His command was erratic all day; he and catcher Jorge Posada did not seem to be completely in sync; and he could not finish hitters off, getting to two strikes on nine of his 25 batters but striking out none of them.

His last batter of the game was Orioles left fielder Luke Scott, and Sabathia threw six straight breaking balls to him, never challenging Scott with a fastball even after getting ahead of him 0-and-2. Scott walked on six pitches, forcing in a run.

"Everything I throw is off my fastball," Sabathia said. "When I can't find that ... it's tough for me."

If nothing else, Sabathia will take yesterday as a reminder of how everything in his new world is magnified. He has not had particularly good fortune in previous Opening Day starts (1-0, 4.23 ERA in five starts), but this one surely featured the most hand-wringing and sharp questioning afterward. When you play for a $200 million team that is coming off a playoff-less season, even the first game of the year can feel dire.

In truth, the big-picture effect of yesterday figures to be minimal. Sabathia has been too good for too long to let it emotionally scar him, and he did not come away with any physical injury (skull or otherwise) - only the disappointment of having failed to set an appropriate tone to a season where expectations couldn't be higher.

In the sixth inning yesterday, after giving up a double, three singles and a couple of walks, Sabathia watched Girardi emerge from the third-base dugout and trot to the mound. He waited on the rubber, smacking the ball into his glove a few times before handing it over. He did not run toward the bench, taking his time and absorbing the jeering from both the Orioles and Yankees fans. He took his pounding well, then stood and answered all the questions that came later.

"I just want to get back out there and do better," Sabathia said, and he is right; there will be many, many other days for him, and almost surely many more important opportunities. Over the course of his seven-year contract, this day may well fade from memory.

It won't be forgotten, though, because it can't be. No one - not even a big-time starting pitcher - gets a second chance at making a first impression.